My son is 7 years old and I want to purchase him a 22 for Christmas. I know youth sizes exist but I have absolutely no idea which are good/bad for the money. Most seem cheap but I don't want a pos rifle that won't function after a few hundred rounds. I'm hoping it will last him a good while. Any suggestions? Prefer under 400 if possible but willing to hear about all anyone has info or experience with thanks!

Oh and btw he shoots a 9mm pistol with ease so he's not a little guy and doesn't need a BB gun lol. With that said, any info would be great!

another vote for the 10/22...he will never forget that lil carbine....

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Originally Posted by Lone_Gunman

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I bought my son (he is 10) a CZ Scout for Christmas. Looks good, solidly built, and comes with a single shot adapter you can swap out for a magazine later. The stock is youth size and can be changed out later. I paid a little under 300 plus fees. I can't wait for Christmas. I want to give it to him now!

My son has been using a CZ scout the last year. It is still too heavy for him to shoot well off hand but the LOP is good for shooting off sandbags. It comes with a single shot mag that we replaced with a five rounder after a few months. He also likes to shoot my S&W 15/22 as we can adjust the stock down to fit him well. Now getting a 10/22 compact so we will see how that goes. At 7 you might want a bit smaller like a cricket.

I have heard good things about the Savage Rascal from a fellow calgunner. It is a bolt action single shot so they can learn the fundamentals before they start shooting 10 rounds as fast as they can with a 10/22. You could probably get both for a little over $400 and let them graduate to the 10/22.

I bought my daughter the single shot .22 Crickett rifle. It is light and has a short stock that will fit a kid. It is accurage enough that I can consistently hit shotgun shells at 25 yards. Teaching safety is easy with this rifle. It is easy to see that the bolt is open and the chamber is clear, and the shooter clearly understands where a cartridge has to be to make the firearm hot. A semi auto will not reinforce these important points. The only downside is the bolt and rear sight could be made to better standards.

CZ Scout... this is an heirloom quality rifle. When he gets bigger he can order a full size stock from CZ that the barreled action will drop right into. Accurate, reliable and great support from CZUSA. The triggers can be massaged to easily get a drag free pull at whatever pull weight is best for him.

I have a mix of rifles and handguns from CZ, I like them all.

Visit the CZ/Brno section of Rimfirecentral.com for info from friendly members.

The 10/22 will 'grow' with your son. In stock form it'll last until it is no longer 'cool' looking. Then you can accessorize until it is 'cool' again. In the long run it'll be durable, reliable and fun. I have 4 in various configurations for different shooting needs. Rimfire Central has a buttload of info and links to parts dealers. If you're going to buy a .22 rifle you cannot go wrong with a 10/22!

My littlest boy (me ) recently got a Savage Rascal. That little thing is epic... Bolt action, all day reliable and very accurate out to 25 yards with peep sights. It is very small, lightweight and has the accutrigger, which is a thing of wonder on a .22. Many colors to choose from and you can get mounts for a sight if you like. No matter what else I'm taking, it goes to the range every time I do..

I was given a 10/22 when I was 4 years old... full size carbine. My dad put a youth stock on it, and a single shot sled. I shot it in that configuration for about 2 or 3 years. My dad made sure my skills were being built up from a very young age, when I could actually make decent groups, then I got full 10 and 25 round mags. When I was 10 or 12, I got the full stock on it.

I still own that rifle, I still shoot it quite a bit, and I estimate it has had somewhere around 50K rounds through it... granted nothing is stock on it except the bolt and receiver. It has gone everywhere with me, college, Coast guard, now on to my professional/civilian career. Many guns has come and gone... that Ruger will be with me forever.

I was given a 10/22 when I was 4 years old... full size carbine. My dad put a youth stock on it, and a single shot sled. I shot it in that configuration for about 2 or 3 years. My dad made sure my skills were being built up from a very young age, when I could actually make decent groups, then I got full 10 and 25 round mags. When I was 10 or 12, I got the full stock on it.

I still own that rifle, I still shoot it quite a bit, and I estimate it has had somewhere around 50K rounds through it... granted nothing is stock on it except the bolt and receiver. It has gone everywhere with me, college, Coast guard, now on to my professional/civilian career. Many guns has come and gone... that Ruger will be with me forever.

i hope my son can remember the 10/22 I bought him like this, thank you for sharing

For a 7 year old, I highly recommend the Crickett rifles. I bought all three of my grandkids one of their own. As they grow, I also have a 10/22 in the safe for each of them. My 9 year old grandson still prefers his Crickett. He hits anything he aims at. Check out this link.

American stormed the beaches of Normandy, not Europeans. Americans invented the airplane, personal computer, telephone, radio, TV, GPS, the DVR, automatic transmission, laser, and f'ing bubble gum. EUROPEANS DIDN"T. So until you asshats start providing the world with more innovation than Americans do how about you STFU about us?

+1 for 10/22. Got mine when I was 6, and still have it and shoot it today @29. Also get some reactive targets for there first time and not just paper. Full soda cans 2 liter bottles of water and food coloring etc. Makes it much more fun for kids... and adults.

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I'm usually a huge fan of starting kids off with a single shot bolt action to really teach them good fundamentals. That being said, a 10/22 is something that will grow with your son. A CZ or marlin will always hold a special place for him because it was his first gun, but I get the feeling that the 10/22 would see more use over the years.

The solution for people with younger kids, buy a trainer to teach em with and gift em a 10/22 for their first rifle when they're ready.

My son is 7 years old and I want to purchase him a 22 for Christmas. I know youth sizes exist but I have absolutely no idea which are good/bad for the money. Most seem cheap but I don't want a pos rifle that won't function after a few hundred rounds. I'm hoping it will last him a good while. Any suggestions? Prefer under 400 if possible but willing to hear about all anyone has info or experience with thanks!

Oh and btw he shoots a 9mm pistol with ease so he's not a little guy and doesn't need a BB gun lol. With that said, any info would be great!

My sons started out shooting when they turned 6. We used a Keystone Crickett as their first rifle. The single shot / Bolt Action makes them focus on every round and we have long since lost count how many bulk packs went through this little rifle.

I added a red dot for my younger son when he struggled with the iron sights. Ever since he has a lot more fun with the rifle. The only downside was that I had to custom-machine the mount since Keystone does not offer a standard Weaver rail.

Only point of critique on the crickett is the trigger, which is a bit stiff. The new Savage Rascal uses their accutrigger in a package the same size. MSRP is $213.

Other than those dedicated youth rifles, I'd suggest looking at Savage's bolt actions. They come with Accutrigger, open sights and option to mount a scope at a later time.

If he's tall enough to handle one of those, this might be the ticket.

Another one that both my sons enjoy shooting A LOT is the Henry Lever-Action .22. The action is the same as on their adult model and you can swap the stock out later for a full -LOP version.
I actually went the other way around - I bought the adult version used on GB and bought a "blemished" stock from Henry for $25 (which was nicer than the one on the rifle) and shortened the stock down to length for my boys.

The crickett is a very nice rifle. Bought one for myself about a month ago. It is very acurate. It is even more so than the 10/22 that I picked up at the same time. Its accuracy will give your first time shooter a confidence boost.

The only negative is that my crickett doesnt have a feed ramp. You cannot drop a round into the the rifle and feed into the chamber by locking the bolt. You have to actually partially feed the round into the chamber before locking the bolt.